Dear Group,
I plan to return to MWF emails on Wednesday, September 4, when life in Spokane is supposed to return to normal after smoke season, the time formerly known as August. I may send an occasional email before September 4, but I need relief from my self-imposed thrice weekly deadline and from the overwhelming flood of material to learn and write about. It is time for a vacation.
The Spokesman on Thursday morning was rife with material worth reading and analyzing:
Realtors’ investment in Spokane elections pays dividends details the Association of Washington Realtors’ huge “independent expenditure” to buy their candidates a place on Spokane’s November General Election ballot. It is no surprise that the article is full of Nadine Woodward’s, Cindy Wendle’s, Andy Rathbun’s, and Michael Cathcart’s disingenuous claims of campaign’s independence of the Realtors’ money. Those words must be said again and again for the Citizens United (Part I, Part II, and Part III) ruling to offer legal cover from campaign finance regulation. The wealthy Realtors union (which, after all, is what the Association of Realtors functions as) won’t spend a couple hundred thousand dollars for nothing. What do they think they’re buying?
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers defends right to own guns, criticizes Donald Trump’s rhetoric in Spokane town hall deserves a thorough read. A more accurate headline would insert the word “lamely” before “defends,” but that would be too much interpretation of the content.
Spokane City Council president race narrows to contest between two very different candidates was in the print edition as “COUNCIL PRESIDENT: BEGGS OR WENDLE Fagan’s eight years on council will end.” Readers need to keep in mind that Wendle poses questions but proposed no solutions (a lot like Woodward). Beggs has a plan and is already enmeshed in the governmental mechanics of addressing the issues based on facts, while Ms. Wendle is planning, in her own words “to go find out what really the heck is going on.” Wendle is a co-owner of Northtown Square Shopping Center, she manages a commercial real estate portfolio, and she is one of the candidates supported by the Realtors. If her real agenda were to understand and solve the problems of downtown Spokane she wouldn’t still be wondering what “is going on.”
From (only) the print version of the Beggs/Wendle article: “If progress has been made under current leadership, Wendle asked why she’s spoken with people afraid to go downtown and mothers afraid to take their children to a park.” There’s a very simple answer to that question, Ms. Wendle. It’s because you and your ilk never cease in your campaign literature and on Facebook to promote the idea that Downtown Spokane is a scary place to go. When did you last leave your shopping center?
Much to read, many people with whom to talk, much to think about, many doors to knock before November, but it is time to get out and breathe some smokey air. Until September 4,
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry
P.S. For national perspective I recommend signing up for Doug Muder’s Monday emails, something you can do at his website The Weekly Sift in the lefthand column.